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Dr. A.A. Heravi Atrium Dedicated
why i give
Dr. A.A. Heravi Atrium By Lynnette Harris
A space central to the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate in the Agricultural Sciences building has been named to honor Professor A.A. Heravi, a pioneer of scientific farming in Iran. The atrium’s naming recognizes just one of the many generous gifts Mehdi Heravi has given across many programs at Utah State University and honors his father’s legacy of learning and teaching.
A.A. Heravi made remarkable contributions to the science of agriculture, especially in his native Iran. He pursued his own higher education in Europe, and returned to Iran as a professor of agriculture at the University of Tehran in 1934–the university’s inaugural year–and was the youngest member of the new school’s faculty. Professor Heravi was the first to teach agriculture there and became the father of scientific agriculture in Iran. In 1939, he wrote the first book on Iranian agriculture, Family Farming, which was widely used throughout the country. Professor Heravi was beloved by the students who came through his classroom. He gave as much time to his students as he could, often saying, “My time is the students’ time.”
The Heravi family was prosperous and greatly valued education. A.A. Heravi was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris, and at age 9, Mehdi Heravi and his older brother began attending a respected school in England. But young Mehdi dreamed of going to the United States. England was familiar to A.A. Heravi. The U.S. was not. He was, understandably, deeply concerned about sending his teenage son there, but Mehdi was persistent. In the 1950s, faculty from the Utah Agricultural College, especially those in engineering and agriculture, often collaborated with university and government scientists in the Middle East. Professor Heravi asked visiting colleagues in Tehran where he might send his son to school, which proved to be the step that led to Mehdi traveling alone at age 18 from Tehran to Logan, Utah. “The very first photo I took when I came to Utah State was not of Logan Canyon, Old Main or Bear Lake but rather it was a photo of me standing in front of the old College of Agriculture building,” he said. “I thought I would send that photo to my father because it would make him happy to see his son in front of a beloved college of agriculture. However, I must confess, I did have an ulterior motive too. I thought this happiness might spill over and lead to an increase in my allowance…and it worked.”
Mehdi quickly made friends in Cache Valley, graduated from Logan High School, and enrolled at Utah State. “My adult formative years were not only influenced but were developed here,” he told guests at the atrium’s dedication. “When I first came to Logan I didn’t know anyone, but within a few days, I had several good friends who remain my friends to this day. That circle of friends got bigger and bigger until finally, I ended up having three couples claiming me as their own son. So I think I am qualified to be in the Guinness Book of Records for having four fathers and four mothers. One of those couples was Milton and Bessie Merrill for whom the library was named.”
Mehdi Heravi earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science at Utah State and worked as a teaching assistant. In 1967, he went on to earn his Ph.D. at American University’s School of International Service in Washington, D.C. and later became vice president of the National University of Iran. He is truly a citizen of the world, and since the late 1970’s regime change in Iran forced him from his leadership role at the university, a commitment to philanthropy has been Mehdi Heravi’s focus. “When the dictionary defines the word ‘philanthropist,’ the description should include the name Dr. Mehdi Heravi,” College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences’ Dean Ken White said. “Dr. Heravi is the epitome of a true philanthropist. His liberality is above and beyond many donors who contribute generous support to Utah State University’s students.” “I was very happy that I could do this for the college in my father’s name,” he said. “My father and Milton Merrill are no longer with us. When a loved one becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure and they will always be treasured as long as I live.” �
(Left to right) CAAS Dean Ken White, USU Vice President Matthew White, alumnus Mehdi Heravi, USU President Noelle Cockett.
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Technical education is part of Utah State University’s land-grant mission to offer public education without limits. According to Justin Morrill, namesake of the Morrill Land-grant College Act that was signed by President Lincoln in 1862, this new kind of college in the U.S. was founded on the idea that “a higher education and broader education should be placed in every State within the reach of those whose destiny assigned them to, or maybe the courage to choose industrial vocations where the wealth of nations is produced.”1
Teaching technical skills that prepare graduates for “industrial vocations” wasn’t just a good idea in 1862. A recent report on the country’s job growth and education requirements concluded that 30% of job openings require some college or an associate’s degree (tinyurl.com/Recovery2020jobs). Preparing people for many sectors of the workforce is part of our history, present, and future in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences and we are committed to a range of academic accomplishments and recognitions — from industry credentials and certificates of completion to associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.
More than 100 years ago, Utah State initiated training programs for technical education instructors in agriculture, family and consumer sciences, and engineering. Teacher preparation at Utah State University has included vocation education for decades with the overwhelming majority of Utah’s high school and middle school technical education teachers trained in Logan.
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A broad and growing number of career and technical education programs expands opportunities for people throughout the state. Above: Gary Straquadine, USU’s associate vice president for career and technical education.
Almost 60 years ago, the Vocational Education Act of 1963 codified technical education programs at public universities. In Utah, the 1963 Act was implemented at USU with new vocational programs in agriculture, making technical education a part of our college long before we added “Applied Sciences” to our name in 2013. The original CAAS technical education program dates to 1965 and was the agricultural machinery technology program under the leadership of Von Jarrett, Keith Hatch, and Darwin Jolley. That program continued into the 21st century with Evan Parker, Scott Wangsgaard, Daryl Reece, and today Royce Hatch – the son of one of our founding instructors, Keith Hatch.
The 2010 merger of Utah State University with the College of Eastern Utah (CEU) brought greater opportunities for technical education at a land-grant university. CEU was always known as a technical college with a focus on workforce development. In joining with Utah State, about two dozen of CEU’s technical education programs were refined and aligned with existing and emerging degrees in the college. In concert with the original intentions of historic acts of congress, technical education from the USU and CEU merger became an entry ramp for learners, traditional and non-traditional, who were focused on careers that did not require baccalaureate degrees.
With Utah System of Higher Education support, technical education certificates can now be “stacked and tracked” into associates of applied science and bachelor’s degrees in CAAS. With precision planning, stackable technical education certificates are now offered as off-ramps to jobs and opportunities to return with earned credits and re-enter school with career development goals – a remodel of traditional post-secondary education that has focused on the bachelor’s degree as the earliest completion award.
Our goal is to empower learners to navigate their individual career journeys. USU is in a better position than ever before to route secondary students in technical education pathways into post-secondary certificates and AAS degrees offered by the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. USU offers more than 30 distinct industry certificates and credential programs — ranging from automated manufacturing and welding to medical fields and ornamental horticulture — that prepare students for better than entry-level employment and continued academic achievement (See the full list online at tinyurl.com/USUcertificates).
The College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences has implemented and refined the land-grant mission and is more innovative than ever before in responding to needs for particular workforce skills and partnering with industry to build technical education programs without limits. �
References 1. A.C Truce, A History of Agricultural Education in the United States, 1785-1925. United States Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication No. 36. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1929, p. 108.
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